Notes and Editorial Reviews

Quartetto Italiano. Philips 426 046-2 [3 CDs]. If the Austrians appear at times to take these works too seriously, the Italians, full of peasant heartiness, can almost be accused of too exuberant an approach. In tonally opulent performances that are relaxed yet alert – with accents in place and in the proper character – they make Beethoven less the bad boy, more the genial, avuncular successor to Haydn, which in some ways he was trying to be. Recorded between 1972 and 1975, and reissued in 1989 at mid-price, these handsomely remastered accounts are close-miked and have vivid presence. The dryish acoustic allows detail to register, making it all the easier to relish the playing of this wonderful ensemble. – Ted Libbey, author of
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